Health at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2024

1. Country and territory dashboards

The aim of this chapter is to show a set of key indicators to compare performance across countries and territories in each of the following dimensions:

• Health status

• Risk factors for health

• Quality of care

• Health care resources

For each dimension, a set of five indicators (four for the quality of care dimension) is presented in the form of country and territories dashboards. The indicators are selected based on their policy relevance, but also on data availability and interpretability. Indicators where coverage is highest are therefore prioritised.

Country and territories dashboards do not acknowledge the different health outcomes experienced by specific population groups. For example, while Australia is considered a high-income country, First Nations people (and other specific population groups) don’t experience the same health outcomes as the general population.

In order to assess comparative performance across countries and territory, each country/territory is classified for every indicator based on how they compare against the income group-specific median. Therefore, countries and territories significantly above/below their respective group median will be classified as better/worse than median (▲/▼), with the remaining countries and territories classified as close to the median (⦿).

Methodology

In order to allow for cross-country comparisons of performance, countries and territories are split according to their income group (high income, upper-middle income, lower-middle and low income). The central tendency measures presented, for all indicators and income groups, are medians.

In order to classify countries and territories as “better than”, “close to”, or “worse than” the central tendency of any indicator, a measure of statistical dispersion is needed to compute the reasonable range for values close to the central tendency value, with anything above or below classified accordingly. The preferred measure is the Median Absolute Deviation (MAD), since it is a robust measure that is both more efficient and less biased than a simple standard deviation when outliers are present.

Countries and territories are classified as “better than median” if they lie above the median + 1 MAD, “worse than median” if they lie below the median – 1 MAD, and “close to the median” if they lie within ± 1 MAD from the median. Given the nature of the indicators presented, for “under age 5 mortality rate” and “tobacco use”, “children under age 5 overweight”, “breast cancer mortality” and “cervical cancer mortality”, countries and territories are classified as “better than median” if they lie below the median - 1 MAD, “worse than median” if they lie above the median + 1 MAD, and “close to the median” if they lie within ± 1 MAD from the median.

Health status

The five indicators used to compare health status are healthy life expectancy at birth for females (2021), healthy life expectancy at birth for males (2021), survival to age 65 for females (2023), survival to age 65 for males (2023), and under age 5 mortality rate per 1 000 live births (2022).

Table 1.1. Dashboard on health status

▲ Better than   ⦿ Close to   ▼ Worse than group-specific central tendency
Country	Healthy LE (F) at birth		Healthy LE (M) at birth		Survival to age 65 (F)		Survival to age 65 (M)		Under age 5 mortality rate
	In years		In years		% of cohort		% of cohort		Per 1 000 live births
High income	70.7		69.9		94.1		89.2		3.8
Australia	71.1	⦿	70.1	⦿	93.6	⦿	89.1	⦿	3.8	⦿
Brunei Darussalam	67.9	⦿	66.3	⦿	85.0	▼	78.1	▼	9.7	▼
Hong Kong (China)	58.7	▼	56.7	▼	94.6	⦿	90.1	⦿	28.2	▼
Japan	74.8	⦿	71.9	⦿	94.7	⦿	90.0	⦿	2.3	⦿
Korea	74.1	⦿	70.7	⦿	96.4	▲	92.0	▲	2.8	⦿
Macau (China)	61.6	▼	59.3	▼	94.4	⦿	89.4	⦿	4.6	⦿
New Zealand	70.3	⦿	69.6	⦿	92.1	▼	88.2	⦿	2.2	⦿
Singapore	75.0	⦿	72.4	⦿	93.8	⦿	87.9	⦿	3.8	⦿
Upper-middle income	65.1		63.0		86.3		70.8		8.1
China	70.1	▲	67.2	▲	90.4	⦿	82.0	▲	6.6	⦿
Fiji	58.7	▼	56.7	▼	69.3	▼	60.2	▼	28.2	▼
Indonesia	61.5	⦿	59.9	▼	78.5	▼	70.2	⦿	21.3	▼
Malaysia	65.1	⦿	63.0	⦿	86.6	⦿	77.5	▲	7.8	⦿
Thailand	68.1	⦿	63.5	⦿	86.3	⦿	70.8	⦿	8.1	⦿
Lower-middle and low income	61.6		59.0		78.6		70.0		27.4
Bangladesh	63.0	⦿	63.1	▲	82.3	⦿	76.9	▲	28.8	⦿
Cambodia	62.0	⦿	59.3	⦿	79.1	⦿	69.2	⦿	23.7	⦿
DPRK	66.4	▲	63.2	▲	83.7	▲	76.4	▲	17.0	▲
India	58.3	▼	58.0	⦿	78.6	⦿	71.7	⦿	29.1	⦿
Lao PDR	61.6	⦿	59.3	⦿	76.9	⦿	67.4	⦿	40.4	▼
Mongolia	63.9	⦿	58.8	⦿	83.3	▲	62.3	▼	13.4	▲
Myanmar	61.7	⦿	57.9	⦿	74.7	▼	60.8	▼	40.1	▼
Nepal	60.7	⦿	59.8	⦿	77.4	⦿	70.8	⦿	27.3	⦿
Pakistan	56.7	▼	57.1	⦿	76.1	⦿	65.9	⦿	61.0	▼
Papua New Guinea	58.1	▼	57.0	⦿	72.0	▼	59.6	▼	41.4	▼
Philippines	60.8	⦿	57.1	⦿	78.6	⦿	65.6	⦿	27.5	⦿
Solomon Islands	58.5	▼	56.3	▼	77.1	⦿	70.9	⦿	18.3	⦿
Sri Lanka	68.3	▲	65.1	▲	90.6	▲	79.3	▲	6.5	▲
Viet Nam	68.0	▲	62.8	▲	87.6	▲	72.7	⦿	20.3	⦿

Note: F: females; M: males. LE: Life Expectancy.

Source: Healthy life expectancy at birth by sex, see Figure 3.3. Survival to age 65, see Figure 3.2. Under age 5 mortality, see Figure 3.8.

Risk factors

The five indicators used to compare risk factors are the age‑standardised prevalence estimates for current tobacco use among persons aged 15 and above for females (2022), the age‑standardised prevalence estimates for current tobacco use among persons aged 15 and above for males (2022), the share of population living in rural areas with access to basic sanitation (2022), the share of population living in rural areas with access to basic drinking water (2022) and the prevalence of overweight among children and adolescent (aged 5-19 years) (2022).

Table 1.2. Dashboard on risk factors for health

▲ Better than   ⦿ Close to   ▼ Worse than group-specific central tendency
Country	Tobacco use (F)		Tobacco use (M)		Access to basic sanitation (rural areas)		Access to basic drinking water (rural areas)		Children and adolescent (aged 5-19 years) overweight
	% of current tobacco users		% of current tobacco users		% population		% population		% population aged 5-19 years
High income	9.3		29.7		100.0		100.0		36.1
Australia	10.9	⦿	15.2	▲					36.4	⦿
Brunei Darussalam	2.2	▲	30.7	⦿					41.7	▼
Hong Kong (China)	13.2	▼	42.0	▼
Japan	9.6	⦿	28.7	⦿					16.3	▲
Korea	5.8	▲	34.1	⦿					33.9	⦿
Macau (China)	9.0	▲	45.4	▼
New Zealand	11.1	⦿	13.4	▲					39.9	⦿
Singapore	4.9	▲	27.9	⦿					35.8	⦿
Upper-middle income	1.6		43.3		93.0		91.1		25.7
China	1.6	⦿	45.1	⦿	92.9	⦿	96.4	▲	22.8	⦿
Fiji	13.2	▼	42	⦿	93.0	⦿	91.1	⦿	30.7	▼
Indonesia	3.3	⦿	73.1	▼	83.6	▼	88.3	⦿	23.6	⦿
Malaysia	0.7	⦿	43.3	⦿	95.8	⦿	90.1	⦿	32.6	▼
Thailand	1.5	⦿	36.9	⦿	98.4	▲	100.0	▲	25.7	⦿
Lower-middle and low income	8.1		45.3		71.5		88.0		17.0
Bangladesh	15.4	▼	50.5	⦿	61.9	⦿	98.3	⦿	8.3	▲
Cambodia	5.7	⦿	28.7	▲	71.2	⦿	72.8	▼	14.6	⦿
DPRK	0	▲	45.1	⦿	73.1	⦿	88.8	⦿	21.0	⦿
India	10.8	⦿	37.8	⦿	74.9	⦿	91.9	⦿	10.3	▲
Lao PDR	9.0	⦿	45.4	⦿	68.6	⦿	78.5	⦿	16.8	⦿
Mongolia	7.2	⦿	51.7	⦿	57.0	⦿	59.7	▼	18.5	⦿
Myanmar	19.3	▼	69.5	▼	71.7	⦿	77.1	⦿	16.6	⦿
Nepal	10.9	⦿	45.7	⦿	80.8	⦿	91.6	⦿	8.8	▲
Pakistan	7.0	⦿	30.8	▲	63.4	⦿	89.3	⦿	18.9	⦿
Papua New Guinea	24.9	▼	54.3	▼	14.7	▼	44.5	▼	36.4	▼
Philippines	4.5	⦿	36.2	▲	85.8	⦿	92.2	⦿	15.0	⦿
Solomon Islands	19.4	▼	54.4	▼	20.6	▼	59.4	▼	22.5	▼
Sri Lanka	2.2	▲	36.8	▲	95.0	▲	87.2	⦿	17.2	⦿
Viet Nam	2.0	▲	43	⦿	88.4	▲	97.2	⦿	18.3	⦿

Note: F: females; M: males.

Source: Tobacco use, see Figure 4.15. Access to basic sanitation, see Figure 4.13. Access to drinking water, see Figure 4.14. Children and adolescent (5-19 years) overweight, see Figure 4.11.

Quality of care

The four indicators used to compare quality of care are the age‑standardised breast cancer mortality rate (2022), the age‑standardised cervical cancer mortality rate (2022), and vaccination coverage among children for diphtheria tetanus toxoid and pertussis containing vaccine, third dose (DTP3) and for measles containing vaccine, second dose (MCV2) (2023).

Table 1.3. Dashboard on quality of care

▲ Better than   ⦿ Close to   ▼ Worse than group-specific central tendency
Country	Breast cancer mortality		Cervical cancer mortality		Vaccination for DTP3		Vaccination for measles
	Age‑standardised rates per 100 000 women		Age‑standardised rates per 100 000 women		Coverage (%), children		Coverage (%), children
High income	13.3		2.3		97.8		94.7
Australia	12.3	⦿	1.4	⦿	94.0	▼	93.0	⦿
Brunei Darussalam	14.3	⦿	6.6	▼	99.0	⦿	99.0	▲
Hong Kong (China)					95.0	▼	95.4	⦿
Japan	9.7	▲	2.6	⦿	98.0	⦿	94.0	⦿
Korea	5.8	▲	2.0	⦿	98.0	⦿	96.0	⦿
Macau (China)					97.6	⦿	96.3	⦿
New Zealand	15.5	⦿	1.5	⦿	88.0	▼	84.0	▼
Singapore	17.8	▼	2.8	⦿	98.0	⦿	92.0	⦿
Upper-middle income	14.4		6.9		97.0		87.0
China	6.1	▲	4.5	⦿	97.0	⦿	95.0	⦿
Fiji	38.9	▼	22.5	▼	99.0	⦿	83.0	⦿
Indonesia	14.4	⦿	13.2	▼	83.0	▼	62.0	▼
Malaysia	19.3	⦿	5.5	⦿	97.0	⦿	96.0	⦿
Thailand	11.8	⦿	6.9	⦿	92.0	▼	87.0	⦿
Lower-middle and low income	11.9		8.1		85.5		74.5
Bangladesh	7.6	⦿	7.0	⦿	98.0	⦿	93.0	⦿
Cambodia	11.2	⦿	8.1	⦿	85.0	⦿	64.0	⦿
DPRK	9.8	⦿	6.8	⦿	16.0	▼	16.0	▼
India	13.7	⦿	11.2	⦿	91.0	⦿	90.0	⦿
Lao PDR	12.6	⦿	6.5	⦿	84.0	⦿	68.0	⦿
Mongolia	3.2	▲	9.6	⦿	96.0	⦿	96.0	▲
Myanmar	10.1	⦿	13.4	▼	76.0	⦿	65.0	⦿
Nepal	7.6	⦿	8.7	⦿	94.0	⦿	89.0	⦿
Pakistan	18.6	▼	3.6	▲	86.0	⦿	80.0	⦿
Papua New Guinea	26.7	▼	19.9	▼	35.0	▼	41.0	▼
Philippines	21.5	▼	8.0	⦿	89.0	⦿	69.0	⦿
Solomon Islands	20.4	▼	17.9	▼	84.0	⦿	48.0	▼
Sri Lanka	11.2	⦿	5.3	⦿	99.0	⦿	99.0	▲
Viet Nam	14.7	⦿	3.8	▲	65.0	▼	86.0	⦿

Source: Breast cancer mortality, see Figure 7.9. Cervical cancer mortality, see Figure 7.12. Vaccination for DTP3, see Figure 7.1. Vaccination for measles, see Figure 7.2.

Health care resources

The five indicators used to compare healthcare resources are health expenditure per capita in USD international (2021), the share of out-of-pocket (OOP) spending in total current health spending (2021), the number of doctors per 1 000 population (latest year available), the number of nurses per 1 000 population (latest year available), and the number of hospital beds per 1 000 population (latest year available). Given the nature of the indicators presented, where a higher or lower value may not be indicative of better or worse performance, the arrows simply imply that the values are significantly higher or lower than the median using the same methodology.

Table 1.4. Dashboard on healthcare resources

▲ Higher than   ⦿ Close to   ▼ Lower than central tendency
Country	Health spending		OOP spending		Doctors per 1 000 population		Nurses per 1 000 population		Hospital beds per 1 000 population
	USD international per capita		Share of health spending		Number		Number		Number
High income	4 714.6		12.9		2.6		9.0		3.9
Australia	6 488	▲	13.8	⦿	4.1	▲	12.8	▲	3.8	⦿
Brunei Darussalam	1 456	▼	6.7	▼	1.9	▼	5.8	▼	3.9	⦿
Hong Kong (China)					2.1	▼	8.9	⦿	4.3	⦿
Japan	4 676	⦿	12.0	⦿	2.7	⦿	12.2	▲	12.6	▲
Korea	4 367	⦿	29.1	▲	2.6	⦿	9.1	⦿	12.7	▲
Macau (China)					2.9	⦿	4.4	▼	2.4	⦿
New Zealand	4 754	⦿	11.7	⦿	3.7	▲	11.8	▲	2.5	⦿
Singapore	5 754	⦿	22.5	▲	2.6	⦿	6.4	▼	2.1	⦿
Upper-middle income	948		27.2		0.9		3.3		2.0
China	1 033	⦿	34.4	⦿	2.5	▲	3.5	⦿	5.0	▲
Fiji	527	▼	17.9	▼	0.8	⦿	3.6	⦿	1.9	⦿
Indonesia	483	▼	27.2	⦿	0.7	⦿	2.5	▼	1.4	⦿
Malaysia	1 268	▲	32.1	⦿	2.3	▲	3.3	⦿	2.0	⦿
Thailand	948	⦿	9.0	▼	0.9	⦿	3.1	⦿	2.3	⦿
Lower-middle and low income	254		43.6		0.8		1.4		1.3
Bangladesh	147	⦿	73.0	▲	0.7	⦿	0.5	⦿	0.9	⦿
Cambodia	360	⦿	54.9	⦿	0.2	⦿	0.6	⦿	0.7	⦿
DPRK					3.7	▲	4.1	▲	13.2	▲
India	236	⦿	49.8	⦿	0.7	⦿	1.7	⦿	1.6	⦿
Lao PDR	161	⦿	30.7	⦿	0.3	⦿	1.0	⦿	1.3	⦿
Mongolia	886	▲	33.5	⦿	3.9	▲	3.9	▲	10.6	▲
Myanmar	254	⦿	70.3	▲	0.8	⦿	0.8	⦿	1.1	⦿
Nepal	323	⦿	51.3	⦿	0.9	⦿	2.3	⦿	0.4	⦿
Pakistan	167	⦿	57.3	⦿	1.1	⦿	0.4	⦿	0.5	⦿
Papua New Guinea	93	⦿	10.4	▼	0.1	▼	0.5	⦿
Philippines	522	▲	41.9	⦿	0.8	⦿	4.2	▲	1.0	⦿
Solomon Islands	111	⦿	3.6	▼	0.2	⦿	2.0	⦿	1.4	⦿
Sri Lanka	609	▲	43.6	⦿	1.2	⦿	1.9	⦿	4.0	▲
Viet Nam	536	▲	40.0	⦿	0.8	⦿	1.1	⦿	2.5	⦿

Source: Health spending, see Figure 6.1. Out-of-pocket spending, see Figure 6.6. Doctors per 1 000 population, see Figure 5.1. Nurses per 1 000 population, see Figure 5.1. Hospital beds per 1 000 population, see Figure 5.7.